" A VISION FOR HAWKES BAY MUSEUM "
THE 1931 HAWKES BAY IMMERSIVE EARTHQUAKE EXPERIENCE
copyright David Vaughan Rogersdvr@allshookup.org
INTRODUCTION
An immersive earthquake experience incorporating an earthquake simulator and a High Definition authentic video simulation based around the 1931 Hawkes Bay Earthquake.The installation will use a twin video projection and two rear projection screens measuring 5.9m W x 3.3m H. An audience of up to 20 persons at any one time would be able to move through this environment. The distance between the two screens is 7.3 m.
A unique, financially viable and highly relevant world class tourist attraction incorporating state of the art visualisation technology for the Hawkes Bay Museum.
1:25 SCALE MODEL PHOTOGRAPHS
THE IMMERSIVE EARTHQUAKE EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION
The video simulation would begin with an authentic and modelled walk by of Hastings St Napier. Period cars, and trams would be moving along the street, people move about. The shop architecture is exactly as it was only minutes before 1931 earthquake. Based on actual accounts of the earthquake, the simulator would lift vertically. Everything is still for the next 30 seconds, apprehension builds, persons appear startled. The audio begins to roar, the simulator shakes violently from side to side horizontally. The S wave follows with vertical movement of the floor pieces. The simulator operates for approximately the next 2 1/2 minutes in both directions. The video simulation continues! Street frontage archictecture collaspes, timber beams and columns fracture, shop awnings and tin roofing falls down. Tram powerlines come down, tracks buckle, smoke and dust everywhere. Pandamonium! The earthquake finishes, the fires begin!Based around the above sequence of Hastings St, Napier, the video simulation would be inter-cut with a series of moving image visualisation sequences of key architectural landmarks and significant landscape changes as a result of the 1931 earthquake.
Possible scenes and sequences for video content development could include the following;
1. Sleepers and railway track twisting and buckling between Napier and Bayview. Storyboard
2. The Bluff Hill slip.
3. The Havelock North or Wairoa Bridge deforming and collapsing.
4. The uplift of the earthquake resulting in the draining of Ahuriri Lagoon.
5. Dr Moores private hospital swaying and deforming.
6. The Methodist Church, Hastings before and after the earthquake. Storyboard
7. The visualisation of rolling green hills as the earthquake travels through the landscape.
Click HERE for link to Selected Reference Photographs
STORYBOARD EXAMPLES
A DESCRIPTION OF THE NAPIER EARTHQUAKE BY MATTHEW WRIGHT
Extracted from the book:QUAKE, Hawkes Bay 1931
By Matthew Wright
Reed Publishing 2001
Most people felt the sledgehammer blows as an uplift. Dogs howled, cats ran screeching, and horses - still hauling suburban milk carts and trade wagons in 1931 - reared and tried to bolt. Buildings lurched violently, many shedding outer walls or decorative pediments. People inside were hurled this way and that, some injured by furniture and debris, or pinned by collapsing ceilings and roofs. Others, caught on footpaths, were injured or killed by debris crashing from walls and buildings. Chimneys in the housing district bent like reeds in a gale, then cracked and broke, sending debris tumbling. Telephone and lighting poles swayed abrubtly, some remaining canted at crazy angles. Vehicles skittered on roads as the carriageway surged and rippled.
About 50 seconds past. Suddenly the ground heaved again, a different kind of movement that some felt as a downwards jolt. This time the effect was completely devastating, mind-numbing waves of destruction that swept across the province, smashing weakend buildings and walls. Rubble poured into the streets, and many who had rushed outside after the primary shock died as shattered masonry crashed on and around them. Avalanches of bricks and debris slammed into vehicles, a few with their occupants still inside. The tortured earth rumbled, a massive sound punctuated by the crisp treble of shattering glass, the bullet - like cracking of buildings, the thuds and thumps of falling furniture, the crash of glassware and crockery, and the sliding rush of collapsing masonry.
SELECTED REFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHS
INSTALLATION DETAILS
The installation will be a walk through environment with No seating. A handrail would be built into the room which is attached to the simulator and moves with it. The audio coming from the room would work as an attraction and draw people to it.The concept with this designed walk through environment would be a symbolic gesture towards the idea that Napier and Hawkes Bay in general survived the disastrous events of 1931 and moved on and is what it is today. The installation could work as a gateway between the new museum development and the existing museum layout.
The simulator measures 5.2m in length x 3.3m in width, standing at 1.5m in height. A unique aspect of the simulator is that its has both horizontal and vertical movement and offers an authentic earthquake experience by having both P Wave and S Wave operation.
VIDEO SYSTEM OVERVIEW AND CONSIDERATIONS
An important consideration for the installation is the distant between the two screens. The drawings included in this proposal indicate a distance of 7.3m between screens. The optimum distance between screens will be between 6.0m to 8.0m allowing for optimum focal field vision for audience viewing. Testing would be required before determining the actual distant between screens.The video requirements incorporate the usage of rear projection screens and a synchonised twin video projection system. A downside to rear projection systems is the distance required for the video projectors to be from the screen. For example a 1:1 projection ratio would require the projector to be 5.9m from the screen if the width of the projection is to be 5.9.0m wide. The high end digital footage would be created in a 16:9 ratio. (HDTV Format)
Please click HERE to view video systems and recommended companies contacted.
OUTLINE FOR DEVELOPMENT FUNDING FROM THE HAWKES BAY CULTURAL TRUST
This updated proposal is in aid of seeking $20,000 (AUD) in development funding from the Hawkes Bay Cultural Trust. This initial funding would be incorporated into the overall budget once the project goes ahead. These requested funds will enable the proposed concept for "The 1931 Hawkes Bay Immersive Earthquake Experience" to be fully investigated for content generation and financial viability as part of the Hawkes Bay Museum redevelopment program scheduled for October 2008.Four key areas below outline how and where the development funds will be spent;
1. The development and research of key characteristics of the 1931 Hawkes Bay Earthquake, including documented personal accounts alongside the research of archived photographs and archival film footage. This proposed development would result in an extensive storyboard treatment comprising of up to 10 minutes of storyboarded footage in preparation for the pipeline required to take it into a High Definition Video production facility.
Please view the following links;
STORYBOARD EXAMPLE ONE
STORYBOARD EXAMPLE TWO
SELECTED REFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHS
2. Video projection systems and screens will be researched, identifying the most cost effective and appropriate system required for the immersive installation experience. In Febrauary 2005, I identified two London based companies, Future Projections Limited and Intition Innovative Graphics Solutions to be appropriate companies equipped to take on such a project. As part of the development funds requested a proportion of the budget will be spent liasing and meeting with both Future Projections and Inition.
Please view the following link;
VIDEO SYSTEMS AND PROJECTION SCREENS
3. As part of the development funds I would like to redevelop the 1:25 Scale model I presented to Roger Mulvay and Peter Hubscher during early August of 2005. Of particular interest is the design of the facade to be designed for the entry and exit point of the of the immersive earthquake experience.
Please view the following links;
1:25 Scale Model Picture One
1:25 Scale Model Picture Two
1:25 Scale Model Picture Three
4. A key component of development funding, in consultation with the Hawkes Bay Cultural Trust is to undertake a feasibility study for financial sustainability of the Immersive Earthquake Experience. This study would outline a maintenance and upgrade schedule assuring the longevity of the installation, as well as incorporating the financial sustainability of the installation.
DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT REFERENCE LETTERS
David Green VIEW pdfAmanda McDonald Crowley VIEW pdf
PRICING DETAILS FOR IMMERSIVE EARTHQUAKE EXPERIENCE
The price for the Earthquake Simulator is $250,000 (AUD)This price includes the following;
The price of $250,000 (AUD) does NOT include the following;
A maintenance schedule for the hydraulic system for the earthquake simulator would require the following;
The price for the commisioned High Definition Audio Visual content would be approximately $150,000 (AUD).
This price includes fees and services for the following;
The price of approx $150,000 (AUD) does not include the following;
DOWNLOAD for pricing breakdown in Microsoft Word format.
EARTHQUAKE SIMULATOR REFERENCE MATERIAL
ADDITIONAL REFERENCE MATERIAL AND EXTERNAL WEB LINKS
David Vaughan Rogers Biographyhttp://allshookup.org/dvr/dvrbio.htm
Original Proposal To Hawkes Bay Cultural Trust April 2005
http://www.allshookup.org/napier/original
Maya Visual Modelling Software
http://www.alias.com/eng/products-services/maya/index.shtml
Video Systems And Projection Screens
http://www.allshookup.org.napier.video.htm